Common spelling problems

Because English spelling is not phonetic, some patterns simply have to be memorised. The ie / ei family follows a loose "i before e, except after c":

believe · receive · piece · achieve · ceiling

The -ough family is English at its least logical — one spelling, many sounds. The only remedy is learning each word individually:

Warn students off looking for a rule inside -ough — there isn't a reliable one. These are learned as fixed shapes.